A recent map of global air traffic released by flight tracking website FlightRadar24 has sparked a wave of eerie reactions online, after several users pointed out a disturbing shape hidden in the data: a skull.
The map, shared on the platform’s official X (formerly Twitter) account, showed the live locations of commercial aircraft around the world. But what caught many people’s attention wasn’t how crowded the skies were — it was the large empty gaps scattered across certain regions.
The absence of flights in four major areas seemed to form the outlines of a skull: two hollow “eye sockets,” a defined “nose,” and a wide gap resembling a gaping “mouth.”
This is what global air traffic looks like right now. Three clear gaps are limiting air traffic. pic.twitter.com/X7dV9KZv9f
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) June 17, 2025
“Anyone else see the skull face?” one user commented, while others responded with skull emojis or Halloween-themed comparisons. But while the shape may look spooky, the reasons behind the gaps are grounded in geography, conflict, and aviation safety.
What’s Behind the Skull-Like Gaps?
Each empty region in the image has a specific and explainable cause — and none are actually paranormal.
1. Eastern Europe – The “Left Eye”
The dark spot in Eastern Europe corresponds to Ukrainian airspace, which has been closed to civilian flights since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. The move was made in the interest of safety, especially given the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in 2014 during prior unrest in the region.
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